Stop Hiding: What Writing My First Book Taught Me About Limiting Beliefs

I’ll never forget that hypnosis session. I was sitting at my desk, camera off, Kleenex box within reach because I wasn’t feeling well. During the group meditation, we were guided back to our childhood bedrooms to meet our younger selves. And there she was—little Kathleen—with a message that stopped me in my tracks: “Stop hiding.”

I wasn’t expecting to cry that day. But the tears came anyway, streaming down my face as I grabbed tissue after tissue. Because in that moment, I realized something. The very thing keeping me from fully sharing my first book, Whispers Within Us, wasn’t a lack of time or resources. It was a limiting belief I’d been carrying for over four decades.

If you’ve ever felt resistance to putting yourself out there—to sharing your story, starting that business, or simply speaking up in a meeting—this is for you. Because what I learned in that session changed everything about how I see myself and my voice in the world.

What Are Limiting Beliefs and Where Do They Come From?

Limiting beliefs are thoughts we’ve believed for so long that they feel like facts. They’re those quiet voices that say, “Money doesn’t grow on trees,” or “I could never do that,” or in my case, “I shouldn’t be seen or heard.” They feel true, but they’re not. They’re just thoughts we’ve repeated so many times that they’ve become part of our identity.

Here’s what’s wild about limiting beliefs: most of them were formed before you were seven years old. By that age, according to psychology research, most of our beliefs and habits are already established. And we often have no idea they’re even there, operating beneath the surface of our conscious awareness.

Let me share where mine came from…

Growing up, my sister and I had a single dad. Sometimes he’d take us on business calls with him—refrigeration repair jobs where he’d work on commercial equipment. Without him explicitly saying it, the message was clear: be quiet, don’t be seen. He didn’t want his customers to know he had his kids with him. So we learned to make ourselves small, to stay quiet, and to play out of sight.

I’m not sharing this to blame my dad. He was doing the best he could, and he always provided for us. But here’s what I’ve come to understand: parents don’t realize what they’re implanting in their children’s subconscious minds. Those repeated experiences of being told to stay quiet and out of sight? They created a deep belief in me that my voice shouldn’t be heard and I shouldn’t be seen.

And here’s the irony that hit me during that hypnosis session: I’m bringing a book out into the world. In order for people to know about it, I have to be seen. I have to be heard. I have to speak about it. The very thing my younger self learned was unsafe is exactly what I need to do now.

This is what Napoleon Hill teaches about the subconscious mind—it records everything, especially in those early years, and those recordings become the programming that runs our lives. Unless we do the work to identify and change them.

The Moment Everything Changed

I’m 53 years old. You’d think by this age, you’ve figured most things out about yourself, right? But that’s not how it works.

My coach and I had talked about this pattern before—this resistance to putting myself out there, to marketing, to being visible. I knew it conceptually. But knowing something in your head and really feeling it, integrating it at a soul level? That’s completely different.

During that hypnosis session, it came up “freaking heavy as could be,” as I told my coach afterward. I had tears just streaming down my face. And in that moment, I realized… I’ve been my own worst critic when it comes to using my voice. Not because I lack confidence in what I have to say, but because of what was implanted in my subconscious mind all those years ago.

My breakthrough wasn’t just in recognizing this pattern. It was in feeling the weight of it, allowing myself to be emotional about it, and then making a choice about what to do next.

How to Identify and Rewrite Your Limiting Beliefs

After that session, I could tell that something had shifted. I felt—and still feel—confident to get really uncomfortable. I keep telling myself: I just have to get really comfortable with being uncomfortable. Because growth happens in the discomfort, not in staying where it’s safe and small.

Here’s the process I’m using, and I want to share it with you because it works:

First, identify the limiting belief.

Listen to your self-talk. Notice where you feel stuck or resistant. For me, it was clear: “I shouldn’t be seen, my voice shouldn’t be heard.” Your belief might sound like “I’m not smart enough,” or “Success isn’t for people like me,” or “I need to stay small to be safe.”

Second, sit with it.

Don’t push the emotion away. When I felt those tears coming during the hypnosis session, I didn’t try to stop them. I let them flow. I allowed myself to feel the heaviness of carrying this belief for over forty years. Because anytime someone gets emotional is when they’ve hit their purpose points—when you’ve touched something real and true that needs to be acknowledged.

Third, choose to rewrite it.

This is where your power lives. You get to decide what you believe now. My younger self said, “It’s time. Stop hiding behind curtains and doors and let’s do this.” So my new belief is: It’s safe for me to be seen. My voice matters. I’m ready to share my message with the world.

The tools that help with this process are meditation, mindfulness, and faith. Faith that the universe will guide you exactly where you need to be, exactly when you need to be there. This whole process of writing Whispers Within Us has been about uncovering these patterns, sitting with them, and choosing something different.

You don’t have to stay stuck in old patterns. Your limiting beliefs may feel permanent, but I promise they’re not. They’re just thoughts—and thoughts can be changed! 

Why Changing My Limiting Beliefs Felt Like a Spiritual Awakening

There’s a parallel I want to draw here, because it might resonate with you if you’ve ever had a moment of profound clarity.

After my divorce, I was in such a dark place mentally. Then one day, I was feeling really good, and I was driving down the road. The colors of people’s flowers—because it was summertime and they had them on their porches—were so vibrant. It was like I was seeing them for the first time. Everything felt more alive, more real.

That’s kind of what a spiritual awakening feels like. When you start paying attention to signs all around you, when you wake up to what’s always been there but you couldn’t see before.

This realization about my limiting beliefs felt exactly like that. It was like, “Oh, there it is.” A moment of clarity so strong it brought me to tears. When you finally realize all the things—all the ways you’ve been holding yourself back, all the patterns that have been running silently in the background—it’s both heartbreaking and liberating at the same time.

Your Limiting Beliefs Are Keeping You Small

So I want to ask you: What limiting beliefs are you carrying?

Maybe it’s “I’m not enough.” Maybe it’s “Who am I to put myself out there?” Maybe it’s “I need to stay small to be safe,” or “Success means I’ll lose myself,” or “People will judge me if I shine too brightly.”

These beliefs feel true. They feel like facts about who you are and what’s possible for you. But here’s what I want you to understand: they’re optional! They’re stories you’ve been telling yourself—stories that were often written by someone else’s fears, limitations, or circumstances, not by your own truth.

It takes courage to question beliefs you’ve held your whole life. I’m still discovering patterns that have been holding me back. But that’s the beautiful thing—it’s never too late to choose differently. It’s never too late to rewrite the story.

You know what I’ve found? When you show up authentically, when you share your heart, there’s a space for it. Always.

So, never forget that your voice matters. Your story matters. The thing you’re afraid to share? Someone needs to hear it. The business you’re afraid to start? Someone needs what you offer. The boundary you’re afraid to set? It will change your life.

It’s Time to Stop Hiding 

Here’s what I know now: I’m ready. Truly ready to share my message with the world.

My younger self’s message to me was clear: “It’s time. Stop hiding behind curtains and doors and let’s do this. You’re worth it.”

And you know what? She was right.

When you identify and rewrite your limiting beliefs, you reclaim your power. You get to make a different decision about how you want to live your life. And you don’t have to keep repeating the patterns that were handed to you. You can choose something different.

You also have an important message to share. The world needs your voice—not someday when you feel more ready, not when you’ve figured it all out, but now. As you are. With all your imperfections and uncertainties and beautiful, messy humanity!

This journey of writing my book, Whispers Within Us, has taught me that the whispers within us—those quiet moments of inner knowing—have been trying to guide us all along. But our limiting beliefs? They drown out those whispers. They keep us playing small, hiding, staying silent.

Not anymore. Not for me. And not for you either! As soon as you’re ready to choose something different.

Love, Light, and Gratitude 🩵
– Kathleen

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